Side slipping weft detector



c. DARWIN 2,633,158

SIDE SLIPPING WEFT DETECTOR March 31, 1953 Filed June 27. 1951 2 SHEETS -SHEET 1 FIG.I

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I 04 N 4 37 3 B INVENTOR Cl CLIFFORD DARWIN 7 W I 87 88 1 I A 1 1; U (JAM/z [.M

ATTORNEY.

INVENTOR 1 OLIFFORDfDARWIN ATTORNEY 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 C DARWIN SIDE SLIPPING WEFT DETECTOR March 31, 1953 Flled June 27 1951 Patented Mar. 31 1953 ii 1 IFITED "STA ES PATENT OFFICE i I 2,633,158 SID E S LIPPI N G WEFT DETECTOR Clifford Darw in, 1axton,* Mass., assignor to Crompt0n"& Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application June 27, 195i, Serial No. 233,759

ffThis invention relatestoside slipping weft detectors for looms and 'it is thegeneral'object of the invention to provide a' weft detector hav- -11 Claims. ((31.139-283) ing a feelerfingerunit-movablein one direction v along a depleted bobbin toindicate weft exhaustion but movable also in the opposite dito avoid weft abrasion without giving an indic'ationof Weft exhaustion.

=" In multishuttle-looms employing shifting shut- =t1e boxes it is customary to use a gang of two .orumore shuttle boxeseachcapableof holding :a shuttleand each movable tog active picking position": It is customary inl such looms to utilize a: shuttle picker which has a hole to receive 3 one ,tinof' the shuttle aligned with it. When the shuttle box; is shifted the tip is cammed outoi the hole in thepicker and. the shuttie movesin adirection toward the centerrof theloom. -Fu'r- ,thermore,,it is customary to equip the layfwith shuttle placer. means in the form of inclined plateswhich act as cams to movean improperly placed shuttle toward the center of the loom during a shift ofjthe'shiittle boxes. 1

. "When aside slipping weft detector is usedat .theshiftingshuttle box end of aloom it is or- "dinarily mounted so that when'swinging to indicate weft exhaustion it willmove away .from a" stop in a direction opposite to' that in which the shuttle is'moved by the picker and the aforeo,

said placer plates as'the boxes shift. Because 'of-tl ie stop, however, the detector is notfree to move with the shuttle when'the latter ismoved "asdescribed incident to box-shift and thereis resultant abrasion of the weft. This condition 4 exists more particularly in those looms in which a gang of weft detectors is mounted in 'frontof the shuttle boxes and rises and fallswith the latter so that each detector is always in register with. its ownshuttle box.

. It is an'important object of'the present invention to provide a side slipping weft detector with a .feelerfinger unit capable of swinging ,bodily in one direction,,,such as toward the ad- 'ififlwtend of thelay,-t o indicate weft exhaustion .but mounted sothat it can move; pivotally in the .op osi ir cti as L OWQ Mhe-t end o the ;lay',' in a reverse direction, ;w ithoutgiving indication of ,,weft exhaustion when moving witha 1- shuttle;which is being moved along the lay t o- .wardtheiar end of the latter. ,The motion of -the feeler unit in the opposite .;.direction will geliminate. abrasion. of the weft. by the'gunit and I will; avoid a false indication .of exhaustion,

san ofeside slipp n we t d t c r determine the condition ofweft in 2 any one of several shuttles in a gang of shifting shuttle boxes it is necessary to utilize the swinging motion of the indicating detector to effect some control of the loom. In the present instance the control is exercised electrically to stop the loom and each detector is associated with a contact normally held in non-contacting position by its detector but permitted to move to contacting position when the indicating lever therefor swings to indicate weft exhaustion. The description to follow sets forth this type of electric indication, but it is to be understood that certain features of the invention are not limited to this particular way of indicating weft exhaustion for the purpose ofcontrolling loom operation. i

In order that the invention may be clearly understood reference is made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate by way of example two embodiments of the invention and in which: Fig- 1 is a planview of a lay having shifting shuttle boxes thereon and weft detecting mechanism made according to the preferred form of .the invention,

Fig. 2.is a vertical section on line 2-2, Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is an'enlarged plan vview looking in the direction of arrow 3, Fig. 2, showing the topweft detector for the gang of detectors, v, Figs. 4 and 5 are enlarged verticalsections yon lines 44 and 5-5, respectively, Fig. 3,- a

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section on-line t t, Fig. 5, V

Fig. 7 is a diagrammaticview illustratingthe -manner in which the preferred form of the invention operates to cause rocking of the indiqcatinglever in a direction'to indicate weft exhaustion when the feeler finger unit. indicates depletion of weft,

Fig. 8 isa diagrammatic view illustrating the -manner in whichthe feeler finger unit can have ;a reverse or opposite motion from that indicated in Fig. 7 when the shuttle is moved toward the center of theloom, f

Fig. 9 is-an enlarged vertical section on line 9-9, Fig. 1, showing the relation between the shuttle, itspicker, and the shuttle placing cams,

, Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic view looking gen-' Qerally in the directionof arrow. it, Fig. 1, showfing the relation between the. gangfoi shifting.

Fig. '12 is a view similar to Fig. "f1 this an dinarily a gang of shifting shuttle boxes at each end of the lay and upon depletion of weft in any shuttle the loom is stopped to permit hand replenishment of the empty shuttle. Only suincient parts of the loom are shown to illustrate the invention and the weft detector mechanism has been illustrated as associated with a gang (if-shifting shuttle boxes at the right hand end -of ;the loom. a U H u Referring'more particularly to Figs. '1 '2 and 10, the loom has -a stationary breast beam and -is provided with a lay 2 which is reciprocated backwardly and forwardly in well-known manner. The lay has ashuttle race 3 along which the picked shuttle travels toward the left as viewed in Fig. l. A :gang G'of shuttle boxeshas four vertically aligned shuttle box cells 4, 5, 6 and "I. all connected together and mounted-on a box lifter rod 8 thevertical position of which determined by WEll-kl'lOWll mechanism not shown herein so that any one of the-cells '4-1 can be in active position with its shuttle actively placed for picking and aligned with the shuttle race 3.

The lay is provided with a picker "rod 10 to guide a picker H which will be moved from-the right to the left'as viewed in Fig. 1 by a picker stick I 2 during a picking operation of the-loom. The lay has inner and outer guides 13 and M respectively stationary with respect thereto to guide the gang G as it rises and falls. Each shuttle box has a shuttle -binder'design'ated gener ally at [5 having a slot t6 therein :for "the f'eele'r finger unit or element of a weft"detector mechanism.

"I'he'loom may operate with more than {four shuttles, but in "the present instance only four are -shownat SI,S'2, S3 and S4. Each shuttle will have at the right end thereof as viewed in Fig.'-l a tip l"! which will enter a hole l 8-in the "picker H when the shuttle enters the associat- "ed box from the left. Secured tQ -the lay is -shuttle placingineans including upper andlo'wer inclined orcam-plates'lli and 20,se'e Fig. 9. I

When a shuttle enters a shuttle cell inactive p'osition its advancing tip end will enter the hole [8 between the upperandlo'wer cam plates I9 and ZEI, see Fig.9. If'theshuttle is-then to *be inactive on the next beatfof the loomth'e box lifter rod 8 will move vertically one way 'or the "other to shift the gang G andthe tip l1 will be cammed outof the' hole l"8=-an'd"wil l"alsf0 "b'eenga'ged by one or the other of *t'heinc'lined cams [9 or 2|] to move the shuttle totlie'left, Fig. 9. Each of the cam plates IS and"zllleajds "to'a vertical wall '22 whichlimitsmotiojn of'a shuttle in engagement therewith me; right hand be 1'10 shifting of tnegaiig G'an'dit will'beipickd out of its cell at the next working stroke of the picker II, but ordinarily in pick and pick looms there will be a shift of the shuttle boxes upon arrival of a shuttle therein. Camming of the shuttle toward the center of the loom will start at the beginning of a box shift as the tip I! leaves the picker hole I8 and is likely to be continued by one or the other of the cams l9 or 20 when the lay reaches its extreme forward or front center position to the right of the position shown in Fig. 10.

A stand 25 secured to the breast beam l supports front and back guides 26 and 21 between which extends a vertically moving weft detector carrier 28. The carrier is connected as at 29 to -:a rod '31] the :lower end of which is operatively connected as at 31 to the box lifter rod 8, Fig. 10. 'llhe rod 30 and the carrier rise and fall with "the rising and falling of the gang G.

in the preferred form of the invention the carrier 28 has mounted thereon four detector mechanisms designated generally at .111, D2, D3 and D4 for the shuttle box wells 4, .5, =6 .and 1. respectively. .These detectors DI- D4 are alike and a description will be :given .ofwone-of them, namely, detector -Dl Detector DI has a base 35 secured at :36 .to the "carrier 28. Mountedfor'horizontal baekland forth motion on the base is asslide :member 31 which 7 is urged to the rearward direction, :to :the left as viewed inFigs. 2 ;and..3, .byxa compression spring 38 operatively interposed between :a about part 3'9 of the base andameampart dll of ttherslide member 31. A stopsc'rw lfl on th'e slide member 3! engages ast'o'p '42 'on thebas'e to -limitwearward motionbi the slide member -37 under-actioniof the spring 533 and permits adjustment of the detector ina back'a'nd *forth direc-tion.

5 Slide member 31 is forme'd with a rearwardl-y extending arm '45 to which is secured "an upwardly' extending stud 46 held to the arm by a nut "41. Stud "'46 comprises aprimary-p'ivotpn which is mounted .an indicating 'llever element 48 .provided with a :forwardl "extending finger "49 which "engages a primary adjustable *stop screw "50 in arm 45. A .primary" torsion spring I 5| havingone end 52 corinectedlto "the indicat- "iii'g ilever '48 and lhaving the other .end :53 .extending through :a .slot T14 in a shell 55 ktends normally to turn 1 the indicating leverwlementlin a counter-clockwise directionns viewed 'in l-Fig. 3 to hold the finger 49 against primary .stop :screw 50. The shell'is -h'eld .in angularl-yad- J'usted.;position on the-zstud .byea set screw .56 :and-. can be moved around -thez-studM (to vary the force-rexerted-bywthe spring- 151.

The nfeeler finger unit, :designated :at SUI, li'S shown: in the; pref erredsform of =.-,the-:.invent-ion as comprising an arm 6| mounteditoiswing on a-necondary'spivot: stud 62 xextentlingxnpwardly: from and zsecured *to the ii'ear 'Lpart of the indicating lever- &8 IIhis -arm has e. secondarysstop fiksee F'igfiG, which enga'gessa stop surface B4 on :the ir-rdicati ng lever iii. n -secondary torsion sprlng 65 has=..orie end ii6 thereof oonneeted' to the arm s I @ndhasthe other endrfi l thereof held ins-slot sa e shell 59 similar to shell tfi. Shell Be -is "held in adjusted"angular'pesition on =stud iiZ by-a "set screw 10. The*=sp1 ing ='E5 actsin adirection opposite 'tothe direction in-which spring-5 1' acts and tends-tdturrrthe arnr liI in a clockwise direc- -tion with respect todn'dicati-nglever 48: as viewed in Fig."6E'th'us holding'thesecoiidarystopsf 63- and 64 against each etheri but permitting separation asserts;

of these steps to enable arm 6| to. swing in a.

counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 6.

. A weft feeler 15 is held in longitudinally, adjusted position on the arm 6| by a clip I6 and includes a rod" to the rear end of which is secured a feeler tip 18 for engagement of weft. The feeler 75 includes also a sleeve or tube 19 in which the rod 'I'i can slide, and a compression spring 99 tending normally to hold the rod 11 in rearward position, to the left as viewed in Fig. 3; but permitting the rod and feeler tip to move forwardly with respect to arm BI.

Slidably mounted on the sliding member 31 is a. contact controlling rod 83 movable in aback and .forth direction in frontand back bearings 84 and 85, respectively, on the member 31. A contactor 86 is secured by set screw 81 to rod 83 and a compression spring 88 between bearing 84 and the contactor normally urges thecontactor and rod-'rea'rwardly. The rod is surrounded by a. sleeve 99 somewhat shorter than the distance norm-ally existing between .the contactor :86 and the rear bearing 85, and the rear end 9I of the its weftW will not beiabraded-bec-ause of the fact that the feeler finger unit Ul 'is free to swing on the secondary pivot. As soon as the gang G moves rearwardly far enoughto disengage the weftfrom the feeler .tip'18 spring 65 will return the feeler finger unit to its normal position and will reestablish engagement of the stops 63 and 64 as shown in full lines in Fig. 8.

In the modified form of the invention, in which much of the matter thus far described will be used, each weft feeler finger unit U2 comprises an arm I90 having a tip IIl'I: foriengagement with the weft WI of a bobbin BI-. The arm IE9 is mounted to swing on a'secondary pivot stud I92 on the rear part ofan indicating lever. I03 somewhatsimilar to lever 48.. Ars'econdary stop I04 is secured tothe lever I93 anda secondary spring I05 tends normally to hold the arm I99 against 7 the stop I04 but permits the arm to. move angurod-is ordinarily held against the'finger 49 by 91 to limit. counter-clockwise motion of the lever 95 around its pivot by a spring 98. There is only one of the contacts 93 and it is so located as to register with the contactor 8B of the 1 detector associated with the shuttle in active picking. position.

In operation, all of. the feeler tips I8 will engage their respective bobbinsas the lay moves forwardly toward its front center position. If all the shuttles are provided with ample supplies of weft the feeler tips with respect to their arms 6| will move forwardly while embedded in weft and will not cause angular motion of their indicating levers, and rods 83 will remain unchanged; If any shuttle is depleted of weft, however, its feeler tip will slide from the fullllineposition to the rightalong the depleted bobbin to the dotted line position, seeF ig. 7,. toward the adjacent end of the lay, due to the fact that the axis of the feeler rod I! is offset from the primary pivot of the indicating leverwith. respect .to the length of the bobbin. .During slippingof the feeler tip the unit UI moves bodily towardthe near end of the lay,: andthesecondary stops 63 and 64 cooperate to cause the .unit. to rock the associated indicating lever 48 in a clockwise direction, Fig. 3, thereby moving its-finger '49 away from the primarystop Stand out. of the path of the rear end of the corresponding rod 83 and permitting the latter to be moved rearwardly to indicating position by its spring Set-to move the .associated contactor 86 into activeor indicatingposition. If the contactoris registered with contact 93 a circuit (not shown will vbeclosed to. stop the loom. I

a previouslyactive.shuttle is shifted outof active position and thefeeler tip I8 corresponding to the shuttle is'partly embedded inthe weft-of. 1 the shuttle the feeler fingerunit will beshifted from the full line position, Fig. 8, toward the. opposite endcf thelayto the dotted line position r as the shuttle is cammed toward the center of the.

loom without, however, causing movement ofth'e indicator lever- 4L, When the bobbin B movesto larlywith respect 'tolever I93 without causing latter to have an indicating motion.

' In the operation of the modified form of the invention each weft feeler finger unit U2 will normally be held against its stop I94 and when its tip I91 engages an ample supply of weftWI the unit U2, lever IE3, and slide 31 will move forwardly on its base 35 during a detecting operation. In this modified form of the invention the spring 38 not only permits back and forthadjustment of thefeeler finger unit as described in connection with the preferred form of the invention, but also permits the slide 31 to assume-the position shown in Fig. 12 when" the lay is on front center and the detector is engaging ample Weft. After-the detecting operation spring 38 returns the slide 31 and parts mounted on it rearwardly to the left, Fig. 12, in readiness for another detecting operation.

If a feeler unit U2 engages a depleted supply of weft on a bobbin BI it will slide along the the latter from the full line to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 11 and the associated slide 3'! will remain stationary. f'I'his bodily movement of the unit U2 toward the near end of the lay will cause rocking of the-corresponding indicating lever I93 to indicating position and the, associated rod 83 will move rearwardly, as already described for the preferred form.

- If .a-feeler unit U2 is in engagement with a,

shuttle which is being moved away from active position and is being cammed toward the center of the loom, the unitU2 will then move;

As shown for instance in Fig. 12 it is desirable that a line joining the axes of the primary. and'secondarypivots 46 and I02 be substantially perpendicular to theaxis of the bobbin being detected, the purpose of this relation being to reduce the likelihoodthat movement. of unit U2 from the full line to the dotted line position,.

Fig. 13, will cause angular indicating motion of the lever I03.

, zAftereitherthe preferred or the modified form of weft feeler or. detectorhas given indication;

of weftex-haustion the rod 83-correspondin-g to dotted-linepQ ifiiPP howninriaarthererore thedenletedshuttle in the a tive v' placed shut-1:

After move.-

tie boiiwill be inrearward position to prevent the associated indicating lever from returning to its normal position. In order to reset the detector mechanism so that the rod 83 in indicating position can be returned to its normal position the lever 95 will be rocked about its pivot 96 by operation of some part of the loom which moves when the loom is stopped, such aseither the shipper or the brake handle when it moves to stopping position.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention sets forth simple means by which the feeder finger unit of a side slipping weft detector mechanism is capable of swinging in usual man.- ner to indicate weft exhaustion and is also capable of swinging in the opposite direction. without indicating to avoid abrasion of the weft. In the preferred form of the invention the feeler finger unit Ul includes asliding feeler on an arm movable pivotally about the secondary pivot, whereas in the modified form of the invention the weft feeler finger unit U2 comprises a feeler arm I mounteddirectly on the secondary pivot. In both forms of the invention a primary spring tends to move the indicating lever to-. ward the far end of the lay. back to its normal position and a secondary spring acts to move the weft feeler finger unit toward the adjacent end of the lay back to its normal position. In the modified form the slide 31 moves backwardly and forwardly against the action of spring 38, whereas inthe preferred form of the invention the slide 3'! will-be stationary whether or not the detector is indicating weft exhaustion. Because of this last named fact the spring 38 will not be necessary in the preferred form of the inventi'on, but it is shown herein as used with both forms of the invention so that either feeler finger unit U! or U2 can be used. Also, the indicating lever and the feeler finger unit constitute an assembly for replacement of feeler fingers on weft detector mechanisms ,now in use.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, what is claimed is:

i. In side slipping weft detector mechanism for a loom having a bobbin at one end of a lay movable toward the opposite end of the lay during aweft detecting operation, a primary pivot, an indicating lever swingable on the primary pivot to move a part thereof from the normal position thereof toward said one end of the lay to weft exhaustion indicating position, a secondary pivot on said part of the indicating lever spaced from the primary pivot, a feeler finger. unit movable angularly on the secondary pivot from the normal position thereof toward said other end of the lay, said unit being slidable along a depleted bobbin toward said one end of the lay, and means on the indicating lever engaging the feeler unit preventing the latter from turning on said secondary pivot relatively to the indicating lever and causing the latter to be turned on the primary pivot to said indicating position by said feeler unit when the feeler unit slides on a depleted bobbin.

2. In side slipping weft detector mechanism. for a loom having a bobbin :at one end of a lay movable toward the opposite. end of the lay during a weft detecting operation, an indicating lever swingable to move a part thereof in a given direction from the normal position there of to indicating position, a feeler finger unit gage'd by a depleted bobbin and pivoted on said part of the lever at a point spaced from the axis of the lever, primary stop means limiting movement of the lever in a direction opposite to said given direction, secondary stop means limiting motion of the unit relative to said lever in said given direction causing the unit when moving laterally in said given direction to swing the lever to indicating position, said unit when engaged by the bobbin when the latter moves toward said opposite end of the lay, provided ample weft is on the bobbin, being moved away from the secondary stop means by the bobbin in a direction opposite to said given direction, and said primary stop means preventing angular motion of the indicating lever when the unit moves in said Opposite direction.

3. In side slipping weft detector mechanism for a loom. having a bobbin at one end of a lay movable toward the oppositeend of the lay during a weft detecting operation, a primary pivot, an indicating lever swingable on the primary pivot to move a part thereof toward said one end of the lay to weft exhaustion indicating position, a primary stop limiting motion of said part of the lever toward the opposite end of the lay, a Secondary pivot on said part of the lever, a feeler finger unit on said secondary pivot movable about the latter in a direction toward the opposite end of the lay, and secondary stop means limiting motion of the unit relative to the lever in a direction toward said one end of the lay, said unit when engaging a depleted bobbin during a detecting operation being movable toward said one end of the lay and cooperating with said secondary Stop to move said lever to indicating position, said unit when in engagement with the bobbin during movement of the latter toward said opposite end of the lay,.provided ample weft is present on the bobbin, being swung about said secondary pivot by the bobbin away from said secondary stop.

4. The detector mechanism set forth in claim 3 wherein a primary spring holds the indicating lever a ainst said primary stop and a secondary spring holds said unit. against the secondary stop.

5. The detector mechanism set forth in claim 4 wherein said primary spring exerts a turning force on said lever in a direction opposite to the turning :force exerted by the secondary spring on the unit.

' 6. The mechanism set forth in claim 3 wherein said feeler finger unit comprises an arm pivoted on the secondary pivot and having a weft feeler for engagement with the bobbin .slidable thereon.

7. The detector mechanism set forth in claim 3 wherein the feeler finger unit comprises a single arm pivoted on said secondary pivot for engagement with the secondary stop and having a weft feeler tip for engagement with the bobbin.

,8. The detector mechanism set forth in claim '7 wherein a line joining the primary and secondary pivots substantially perpendicular to the bobbin.

9. An assembly for a weft detector mechanism having a primary pivot stud, said assembly comprising an indicator lever for mounting on said primary pivot stud, a stop on the lever, a secondary pivot stud on the indicator lover, a feeler finger unit pivoted on the secondary pivot stud, and a spring normally holding the unit against said stop, said unit when moved bodily in one direction while in engagement with said stop causing movement of the lever and said unit being movable angularly aboutsaid secondary pivot stud away from said stop without causing movement of the indicating lever. REFERENCES CITED The assembly Set forth In Claim 9 wherein The following references are of record in the said unit comprises an arm on the secondary file of this patent; pivot stud normally engaging the stop and a weft 5 feeler mounted for sliding movement with respect UNITED STATES PATENTS to the arm, Number Name Date 11. The assembly set forth in claim 9- wherein 1,362,117 Lacey Dec. 14, 1920 said unit comprises a single arm having a part 1,958,463 Benson May 15, 1934 thereof normally held against said stop and 10 having a feeler tip on the end thereof remot from the secondary pivot.

CLIFFORD DARWIN. 

